The Contender Hull

[matt76]

I'm interested in building an electric powered boat. I really like the size and looks of the Contender sailing dingy.
Would this hull design work for me?
i only want her to be a two seater and well powered. Cedar strip and fiberglass construction. i have all kinds of motors i could use, i just need to make sure she can carry the weight.
any thoughts?

I doubt that the Contender would be a good choice since its designed as a singlehander. Small high performance boats don't react well to much more than their designed sailing weight.
A better choice might be a Thistle hull-designed for three crew and an easily driven hull. It would also be less affected by going over weight 60-80 pounds.
They are also fairly plentifull at good prices.

[matt76]

take a look if you don't know the boat.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contender_(dinghy)

[matt76]

i would be building the hull myself. i build cedar strip canoes, and want to try something a little bigger.
is there any modifications i could make that would help to carry the weight?
she can't be any longer than 16 feet and i would like to stay under 6 foot wide.

An International 14 hull or Windmill/US1 hull(15.5'LOA -4.6' beam) might work better.
You might look into the Albacore-15' LOA Beam 5'1.5". All very easily driven hulls but for your purpose I'd bet on the Albacore.

[keith66]

In 1994 i re engined an Electric powered boat, she was based on a small steam launch the lady Elizabeth ? that was in the Steamboat museum on Lake Windamere. A friend of mine redesigned the hull by shortening it to about 18ft and put it into production with no real success.
The boat performed quite well but displaced about 1 ton, the batteries were very heavy.
I am not sure a sailing dinghy hull will be suitable unless you go for an electric outboard with light battery.
I would have thought a good traditional rowing hull would be more suitable and easily driven.

[messabout]

Keith66 has the better answer. A traditional rowing hull will do the job nicely. A whitehall type is a good choice and will be right down your alley as it can be strip built quite handily. It will also tolerate large variations in cargo and passenger weight. There is a very nice example of an electric whitehall that plies the Manatee river in Bradenton Fl. A delightful boat she is.

Check out John Gardners books about traditional small craft. There are several very good prospects in the books, and there are even offset tables that will get you started immediately.

[matt76]

basically i want to build a smaller, lightweight version of something like a 17 foot Chris Craft Riviera, powered by batteries.
something i can use on small lakes that don't allow gas motors. i want to be able to move as fast as the hull will allow. i'm not worried about not being able to go far between charges.
400lbs of batteries, 50lb motor, two grown adults.
something i can deck.
thanks for the replys.

[lewisboats]

"I want to move as fast as the hull will allow"

Does that mean planning or displacement speeds? If you want displacement speeds then a runnabout hull would be wasteful because of the drag from the transom and the overall shape...if you want to plane...I think you'll need more hp than is available from battery/electric motor combo. You will probably want a double ended design that is easily driven (as stated above) because you don't want to draw down your batteries too fast or too far...it ruins them in quick order. However...a classy compromise would be a Bolger Sneakeasy...long, slim and easily driven but with some style to it too.

I snagged these pics from this site...the first in the list when googled:
http://www.alaska.net/~fritzf/Boats/.../Sneakeasy.htm

Steve

[alan white]

One boat that comes to mind is a 19 ft Grand laker canoe. Big capacity, square stern, long waterline. One horsepower (.746 kw) would get it up to hull speed (about 5 1/2 kts). Hull weight of 125# as a stripper.

Alan

[Steve B]

About putting a motor in an Albacore -
The hull is very round, so the passengers must sit still not to upset the steering. It was designed to be sailed. Also Uffa Fox would come back and haunt you if you even thought about doing it!

[matt76]

thanks everyone for the help.
what does everyone think of this
http://www.electricboats.co.uk/designs.html
check out the Henley 16 foot slipper.
this is along the same idea i have.